Can filling apparatus



Aug. 29, 1961 D- w- BING'HAM CAN FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i mi.: g@

Aug. 29, 1961 D. w. BINGHAM CAN FILLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1959 2,998,037 CAN FILLING APPARATUS David William Bingham, 32 Edro Ave., Brighton, Victoria, Australia Filed June 9, 1959, Ser. No. 819,053 Claims priority, application Australia June 9, 1958 l4 Claims. (cl. 14n-143) This invention rel-ates to apparatus for filling cans, jars and other containers with liquids, pastes and like substances and more particularly concerns that type of can filler which incorporates one or more piston type iilling heads for delivering, under pressure, predetermined quantities of the material to the cans to be iilled.

Existing can iillers of the type mentioned have not proved to be entirely satisfactory due mainly to the fact that -an undesirable quantity of the liquid or other' material being handled remained in a control valve associated with each `filling head after each can had been iilled. This is liable to lead to inaccurate lling of subsequent cans and in some cases may lead to a can being suiiiciently over-filled to cause bursting of the can during subsequent cooking or other heat treatment.

The primary o'bject of the present invention is to provide an improved can iller of the kind indicated which is designed to avoid the disadvantages mentioned by reducing to a the amount of the material remaining in the control valve after each filling operation.

The improved can filler is of particularly simple design and construction having relatively few moving parts which are not likely to get out of order or require frequent maintenance.

Furthermore, such parts may be quickly and easily disassembled for cleaning purposes and subsequently assembled by unskilled Workmen without the use of special tools.

Other objects and various novel constructional features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description.

Referring to the drawings which form part of this specification:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of can -lling apparatus in accordance with the invention, parts being omitted for convenience of illustration.

FIGURE 2 is a contr-acted sectional elevation on an enlarged scale of the bulk storage vessel and its series of lling heads and other parts associated therewith seen in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of one of the filling heads seen in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan Itaken on the line IV-IV of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional plan taken on the line V-V of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a movable valve member which is tted to each lling head.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a xed valve member which is adapted to co-operate with the movable valve member.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a retaining ring for holding the fixed and movable valve members in the desired operative position on their tilling head.

Apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a' bulk storage vessel 2 for the liquid or other material to be filled. This vessel is provided on the exterior of its side wall with mounting means 3 for one or more filling heads -4 which are located above a rotary or any other suitable type of conveyor 6 for the cans 7 .to be lled.

As seen more clearly in FIGURE 1, several iilling heads are preferably arranged in circumferentially spaced ICG relationship around the bulk storage vessel and this assembly is mounted in any suitable manner so as to rotate bodily in relation tok a stationary main supporting frame 5, the movements of the storage vessel and the aforesaid can conveyor being synchronised so as to operatively position a can beneath each illing head as it passes over the conveyor.

Each lling head includes an upright cylinder 8 which may be open ended and slidably accommodates a piston 9, the stroke of which may be varied so as to deliver predetermined quantities of liquid or other material to the cans. The means provided for reciprocating the piston may consist of a laterally projecting arm 11 connected at its inner end to the piston so as to extend through a longitudinal slot 12 in the cylinder, the outer end portion of the arm being engageable by a cam track, a striker or any other suitable means for imparting the desired longitndinal movement to the piston Awithin its cylinder.

A cam track is preferably employed for reciprocating the pistons of the several iilling heads. This cam track may consist of upper and lower track members 14 and 16 respectively which 'are of circular or part circular formation and substantially parallel so as to form a track therebetween for anti-friction rollers i3 carried by the aforesaid projecting arms 11 on the pistons.

These track memlbers may be carried byV upstanding posts y17 on the main supporting frame and upstroke and downstroke adjustment means are provided for effecting vertical adjustment of the track members in relation to the filling heads so las to vary the stroke of the pistons and thus provide for the delivery of predetermined quantities of liquid or other material from the bulk storage vessel. In addition, such adjustment means also enable the track members to be operatively positioned in such a manner that each piston may closely approach a control valve hereinafter described, in the bottom of its cylinder so as to reduce to a minimum the amount of liquid or other material remaining in the cylinder after each downstroke of the piston.

The last mentioned object may be achieved by mounting the downstroke adjustment means upon the supporting posts at one side of the bulk storage vessel. Such downstroke adjustment means may include screwed collars or the like 18 carried by the track members and engaging screw thread portions 19 on the respective supporting posts.

The upstroke adjustment means which determines the quantity ort liquid or other material being discharged from `each cylinder -in accordance with the size of the containers being lfilled, necessarily requires more frequent adjustment to take care or containers of vdifferent sizes. For this purpose, such upstroke adjustment means may include sleeves Z1 mounted upon the upstanding supporting posts .at that side of the Ibulk storage vessel substantially opposite to the downstroke adjustment means. Two of such sleeves mounted on laterally spaced posts may be ernployed and relative vertical movement of the sleeves may be effected by gearing 22 manually operable, for example, by a hand wheel 23. Simultaneous movement of the sleeves may be ensured by actuating the gearing on the two posts by a common spindle 24 to which the hand wheel is connected.

Coaligned inlet ports 26 are formed in the walls of the storage vessel and each cylinder 8 preferably near the bottom of the vessel so that its contents may flow into the cylinder during the upstroke of the piston 9 as hereinafter described.

Associated with the foregoing is a control valve for each lling head so as to control the admission to and subsequent discharge from the cylinder of the liquid or other material to be packed in the cans. This control valve assembly is preferably fitted to the lower end of the cylinder and consists of fixed and movable valve members. The fixed valve member 27 is preferably relatively thin and of disc or plate like formation so that it may be fitted to the bottom of the cylinder andrdetachably held in place, for example, by a retaining ring 2S screwed to the bottom of the cylinder` If desired, the fixed valve member may be provided with a stepped shoulder around its marginal edge portion so as to accurately locate it within the cylinder. y

A discharge port V29 of predetermined diameter is formed through the fixed valve member so that it may be opened and closed by appropriate movement of the movable valve member 31; The latter may be of cup-shaped formation and the Vupstanding annular side Wall of this valve member is preferably tapered inwardly and upwardly on the exterior so as to form a close fit within a' complementary shaped recess in the 4lower end portion of the cylinder.

An inlet port 32 is formed in the side Wall of the movable valve member and an outlet port 33 is formed in the bottom of this valve member in such a' position that it may be brought into registry with the discharge port 29 in the fixed valve member when so desired. The inlet port 32 is preferably of elongated formation so that it may be brought into registry with the inlet ports 26 in the cylinder and side wall of the storage vessel.

The bottom wall of the movable valve member is also relatively thin and the lower surface thereof is substantially flat so as to form a desirable close contact With the adjacent surface of the fixed valve member. Furthermore the internal diameter of the cup-shaped movable valve member is such that the head of the piston forms a relatively close sliding fit therein and enables the piston to closely approach the internal surface of the bottom wall of this valve member.

Means are provided for oscillating the movable valve member 31 so as to `open and close the discharge port V29 in accordance with requirements and for this purpose the movable valve member may be connected to the lower end of a spindle 36 extending upwardly through an openended axial hole in the piston.

The upper end portion of this valve spindle passes through a removable closure cap 37 fitted to the upper end of the cylinder. The upper outer end of the valve spindle may carry one or more sidewardly extending lever arms adapted to be engaged by one or more strikers designed to oscillate the movable valve member.

VTwo of such lever arms are preferably provided for each filling head and each pair of lever arms may be mounted on the spindle of its lling head so as to form upper and lower lever arms 41 and 42 respectively which are fixed to the valve spindle 36 so as to effect the desired partial rotation of the latter in opposite directions for opening and closing the movable valve member 31.

Associated with the upper and lower lever arms is an adjustable striker for opening the movable valve member and a fixed striker 43 for closing it. These strikers are mounted at suitable circumferentially spaced positions in relation tothe bulk storage vessel and as seen in FIGURE 1, they may be carried by the aforesaid upstanding posts.

The adiustable striker may consist of a sleeve 44 which is slidable lengthwise on an upstanding stationary pin 46 so as to lform part ofY no can, no fill mechanism which is designed to interrupt the discharge of liquid or other material4 from a filler head in the event that a can is, for some reason, not positioned beneath that particular filler head. Such no can, no fill mechanism is of any suitable construction and may include a spring influenced lever arm 47 projecting across the path of the oncoming cans as they are carried forward by the conveyor This spring influenced lever is connected by any suitable type of linkage S to a rocking lever 49 which is adapted to engage the adjustable'striker sleeve 44 and hold it in an inoperative position when a can is missing from the conveyor. When this occurs, the relevant filler head simply returns its contents to the storage vessel during the current downstroke of the piston.

In order to ensure desirable close Contact between the adiacent surfaces of the fixed and movable valve members 27, 31 the latter may be spring influenced, for example, by means of a spring 51 encircling the valve spindle between the closure cap and a flange or collar S2 on the spindle.

In use, upward movement of the piston 9 Within its cylinder Whilst the control valve is closed results in a predetermined quantity of liquid or paste being drawn into the cylinder from the main storage vessel 2. When the piston has completed its upstroke the valve spindle 36 is partially rotated by its striker so as to partially rotate the movable valve member 31 in relation to its fixed valve member 27 and thus close the inlet port 32 and open the discharge port 29 beneath which a can to be filled has been previously positioned by the conveyor.

Downward movement of the piston results in the contents of the cylinder being discharged under pressure into the can. This mode of discharge is in most cases to be preferred for the reason that if the liquid or other material contained in the cylinderlis permitted to gravitate therefrom it is liable to become aerated particularly if the cans are being filled with hot soup or the like. Undesirable foaming of such hot material is avoided if it is discharged under pressure as in accordance with the present invention'. l

Due to the face that the piston 9 enters the movable valve member 31 and closely approaches the bottom thereof at the end of its downstroke Whilst, in addition, the effective length of the outlettand discharge ports 33, 29 in the bottom of the movable and the fixed valve members is relatively short, the amount of material that may remain in such ports after each downstroke of the piston, is reduced to a minimum.

It will also be appreciated that effective cleaning of the cylinder and its control valve and parts associated therewith may be quickly and easily effected simply by removing the screwed retaining ring 28 on the bottom of the cylinder.

If desired, a set or series of interchangeable fixed valve members 27 may be provided for each cylinder. The diameter of the discharge port 29 in each of these members may vary Wlulst, in addition, the discharge port need not necessarily be of circular form but it may be of rectangular or any other suitable shape in accordance with requirements.

Reference is made throughout this specification to the bottom of the movable valve member and preferably also the fixed valve member being relatively thin in order to achieve the aforesaid principal object of the invention. Naturally, the thickness of these associated` valve members may vary in accordancerwith requirements but in order to avoid ambiguity, the expression relatively thin is intended to cover a size rangev of from about one sixteenth of an inch (1/16") to It is essential for the bottom of the movable valve member to be relatively thin as aforesaid, but itis to be understood that the thickness of the fixed valve member may exceed one half of an inch V(1/2") if so desired. In

such a case, the Wall of the discharge port through the be introduced into the foregoing.v construction and arrange ment of parts Without departing from the Aambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

about one half of an inch Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Improved can filling apparatus of the kind indicated comprising a stationary main supporting frame carrying a bulk storage vessel on lwhich several circumferentially spaced lling heads are mounted so as to form an assembly which is adapted to rotate bodily in relation to said supporting frame, and a can conveyor for operatively positioning a can beneath each filling head as it passes over said conveyor, each filling head comprising an upright cylinder and a piston longitudinally slidably therein, an inlet port in the side wall of the cylinder and a control valve assembly on the bottom thereof for controlling the admission of liquid or other material from said bulk storage vessel to said cylinder and subsequently discharging a measured quantity of said liquid or material into a can beneath the cylinder, said control valve assembly including a xed valve member of platelike formation having a discharge port therethrough and means associated therewith for detachably connecting said fixed valve member to the bottom of the cylinder, and a movable valve member of substantially cup-shaped formation which is mounted Within the cylinder with the adjacent surfaces of said xed and movable valve members in close engagement, said movable valve member having an upstanding annular side wall which has an inlet port formed therethrough and an outlet port formed in the bottom of said movable valve member, the lower surface of said bottom being substantially flat whilst the internal `diameter of said upstanding annular side wall is such as to snugly accommodate the head portion of said piston when the latter is nearing the end of its downstroke so that the head of the piston may closely approach the bottom of said movable valve member, means for oscillating said movable valve member so that its spaced inlet and outlet ports may register with said cylinder inlet port and said discharge port in such a manner that when said cylinder inlet port is opened the discharge port is closed and vice versa, the bottom of said movable valve member being relatively thin.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the upstanding annular side wall of said movable valve member has an outer surface which is tapered inwardly and upwardly so as to form a relatively close iit within a complementary shaped recess in the lower end portion of said cylinder.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said cylinder has a closure removably tted at its upper end, said closure having a hole therein, and in which said piston has an axial bore extending entirely therethrough, and which includes an oscillatable valve spindle extending through said bore of said piston and said opening in said closure, said spindle being connected at its lower end to said movable valve element, said spindle having one or more sidewardly extending lever arms connected at its upper end adapted to be engaged by one or more strikers mounted on the frame designed to oscillate the movable valve member which is spring iniluenced so as to ensure desirable close contact between the adjacent faces of said fixed and movable valve members.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in combination with no can, no till mechanism mounted on the frame which includes an adjustable striker adapted to engage one of said lever arms on the valve spindle and which is slidable lengthwiseon an upstanding stationary pin, a spring influenced lever arm projecting across the path of the cans on said conveyor and which is connected by linkage to a rocking lever adapted to engage said adjustable striker sleeve.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 720,492 Sedberry Feb. 10, 1903 1,254,190 Baker Ian. 22, 1918 1,683,120 Ayars Sept. 4, 1928 1,946,025 Lewis i- Feb. 6, 1934 2,187,615 Ayars Jan. 16, 1940 2,385,677 Bailey Sept. 25, 1945 2,725,169 Stingler -2 Nov. 29, 1955 2,761,605 Pahl et al. Sept. 4, 1956 

